The story ahead
by GrEaTmInD1
Summary: This is how I imagined season 3 would be. New enemies land in Starling creating chaos in his beloved city but an old friend is back to finally finish what he started ages ago. Madness ensues and Oliver's true feelings are uncovered. Picks up six months after unthinkable.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first attempt at fan fiction, so please be gentle…. I don't own arrow or anything related to it… all the legal rights belong to CW…. If there is any spelling or grammatical errors please do forgive me. Please do let me know what you think.**

The past six months had been a struggle would be saying the least, apparently getting your family's company back from greedy and money hungry board members and the ever vicious Stellmoor International was easier said than done. I have never hated anyone more than Isabel Rochev not even Slade, she was a conniving bitch who had led to the destruction of the queens. It had taken us a lot of scheming and plenty of help from Walter to wrench back what was rightfully his. It was his first day back in the office as CEO of Queen consolidated after his brush with poverty.

"I think congratulations are in order." Digg's deep voice resonated through the office jolting me from the trip down memory lane.

Oliver sighed heavily as he sat himself down on his chair.

"Not yet Digg." He replied glumly.

"Thea." I whispered before I could stop myself. He met my eyes. His face filled with worry and pain for a second before he put on a mask of indifference. Why did I always have to say things that made him miserable?

Thea Queen was missing for the past six months, the last time anyone had seen her had been before the attacks on the city. It was always assumed that she had left the city before Slade's men had started tearing it apart but now they knew better, Roy had seen her after waking up from his Tibetan pit viper venom induced coma. I had hacked into security cam footages from the train central which led to the shocking discovery that Malcolm Merlyn was still alive. With the reluctant help of ARGUS we now know that Thea had taken off with Malcolm Merlyn willingly.

"We will find her man." Digg reassured him.

"Any news from Sara?" I asked him as I walked to his desk.

"Nothing good, the league has no idea where Malcolm Merlyn is." He bit out angrily.

"We will know the instant she steps into Starling." I told him. Facial recognizition will spot her.

"If she comes back." He retorted sharply. His pessimistic side was showing. His shoulders sagged in defeat.

"No matter what, she will find her way back home just like you did." I told him reassuringly. That seemed to ease him a little. A small smile tugged on his lips.

"Let's hope Layla and ARGUS had some luck locating Merlyn." Digg broke the moment.

"Speaking of Layla how is she? Still making you run around town to get her midnight cravings?" Oliver enquired.

"Ah! Can we not talk about that." Digg grunted in frustration. A bigger smile broke out on Oliver's face, a real smile.

"That bad huh?" I couldn't help but tease him a little. Between his duties as backup to the arrow, helping Oliver get his company back and running around trying to get Layla everything she needs Digg had been run Haggard.

"You have no idea." He responded warily.

"You need to tell her to let me throw a baby shower for her, its tradition." I whined, she wouldn't let me and I needed Digg to back me up. I had struck a friendship with the ARGUS agent after the attacks.

"That's between you and her I rather stay out of it." He told me as he made a run for the exit. Digg had been upgraded to Head of Security while I was still stuck as his EA.

"Coward!" I mumbled under my breath. Oliver chuckled at the exchange between me and Digg. I turned towards him, it was so good to see him smiling it had become such a rarity these days.

"It's good that you have your fortune back, poverty was not a good look on you." I realized the error in my words as soon as I said them. "Not the look look the other look, I mean you always look perfect I mean with or without these expensive clothes or clothes for that matter not that I have seen you without clo." I stopped myself before I could say more, heat rushed to my cheeks. I had been doing so well for the past few days.

He just looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"You know what, let me get you your schedule for the day." I rushed out to my desk, I need to stop doing this. I need to get over this stupid crush. I sat down and started to line up his duties for the day. Even though I missed my old job sometimes, this job had certainly had its perks. I liked being near him.

I saw Laurel step off the elevator; I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. I knew they were dating and they were not very subtle about it. Detective Lance was still in a coma and they were trying to find solace in each other. It may not be the healthiest of relationships but it did the job. He had been living with Laurel for the past six months and it was natural to start a relationship, they had so much history between them. Good news for me Barry was up and running and boy was he running!

She gave me a tight smile as she passed my desk, I don't think she likes me very much. Laurel was always around the new lair, training and patching up Oliver it was as if she was keeping an eye on him all the time. If she was still hung up over the staged act then she was wasting her time. It was long forgotten and it was never mentioned of after we left Lian Yu.

He rose from his chair to give her a hug; I wish his office had been made of actual walls not just plain glass. The phone rang loudly distracting me and I was quite glad for the interruption.

I heard my former boss's voice on the other end. They needed me down in the IT department. My position was yet to be filled and whenever they had a shortage of manpower I had to rush down to avert crisis. I rushed down leaving the love birds alone; I would be surprised if Oliver had noticed that I was missing from my desk.

A soft knock on my cubicle made me look up.

"How long have you been down here?"Digg asked as he stood there staring at me.

"Long enough!" I stood up and stretched out, my back was aching and my feet felt like they were on fire. High heels may look good on you but damn it hurts!

"You want to come back here?" If anyone could see through me it was probably Digg.

I sighed, "Yes."

"Why? I thought you were beginning to like your new job."

"I was fired six months ago when Oliver was no longer CEO and then hired back yesterday when he was back on, there are rumors Digg, bad ones."

"I thought you didn't care about them." Digg asked me with confusion etched on his face.

"He has Laurel now and I don't want everybody to think he is cheating on her with me, trust me it would not do his already damaged image any good." I ranted out.

Digg nodded in understanding.

We walked into Oliver's office, work hours were long over and the whole building was deserted.

"I am never going to be done." He sighed in exasperation as he saw us walking in.

"Not even a day and he is already complaining." Digg teased.

"Nobody said being CEO was easy buddy." I couldn't hold back.

"Looks like Roy will have to hood up alone today." Digg remarked apprehensively, Digg thought Roy needed more training and more restrain.

"Don't worry I'll keep an eye on him, Digg can drive you home." I told them both, Roy was someone who was ruled by his heart it was not hard to understand him he just needed a lot of reassurance and love.

"No you won't." He snapped his file shut. "Digg can patrol with him today, he may be off the Mirakuru but he is still heartbroken and angry that makes him extremely unstable." Oliver told me firmly. The tight set of his jaw told me not to argue with him, there was no way I was winning this argument.

"Fine then, we will see you tomorrow I guess." I told him reluctantly.

"Ollie aren't you done yet?" Laurel walked in with an inquisitive look on her face. Digg shifted on his feet, he was not the biggest fan of Laurel Lance. He had no kind words for their relationship.

"Looks like I am going to be stuck here for a while." He replied grumpily.

"Well misery loves company doesn't it?" Nobody could miss the sly overtones in her reply.

"We should get going." I croaked uncomfortably, Laurel's integration into arrow team was causing us all some level of discomfort except Oliver. He was relieved to be himself, he was tired of lying to her.

Digg was driving my car. How he had fit into the small space would be a mystery forever. I rested my head on the window and watched the buildings and the bright lights pass by. Our new lair was in an abandoned Queen factory on the outskirts of the city. The commute was causing us all serious trouble. Lookout for a new convenient liar was on, now that Oliver had his money back it shouldn't be a problem anymore.

"Penny for your thoughts, you are awfully quiet these days."

I turned to look at him, he looked a little worried.

"I am just tired, how is your research on HIVE going?" I asked him, Digg had started looking into it a few months ago.

"No luck on that front too." He sighed.

"Maybe Oliver can help." I nudged him gently. He was being stubborn; the only person who knew about this search was me. And there was nothing on them online.

"He has enough on his plate." He reprimanded me.

"Can you get a few minutes alone with Layton? Maybe he can give us more information." I speculated.

"There is no way I can get that done without getting Layla involved." He told me.

We reached the new liar, Digg and Roy trained for a while and were off for their patrol duties.

This new liar felt cold and gloomy and I couldn't wait to find a new place. I sat on my chair, facial recognizition was running as it tried to spot Thea. The peaceful silence in the liar was interrupted by the loud ringing of my phone. It was Oliver calling.

"Oliver?"

"Can you guys meet me at ARGUS headquarter?" I could hear impatience in his voice.

"Yes, What's going on?" I asked him with caution.

"I don't know, we were summoned there." He replied irritably.

I asked Digg and Roy to meet us there and drove myself to the headquarters. I could see team arrow waiting for me. Everyone had gathered here except Laurel.

"What's going on?" I asked them, all of them seemed to be unaware of why we were being called here.

"Let's find out." Oliver bit out, he walked in. He was on full alert mode, which was never a good sign.

We were ushered inside Amanda Waller's office.

"Care to tell me why we are here Amanda?" Oliver snapped.

"Slade Wilson is going to be a problem again." She told us. Has she always looked menacing? The steely look in her eye commanded respect and fear in others.

"Why? Isn't he locked up in Lian Yu?" Digg asked her.

"Slade Wilson and ten other prisoners have escaped." She was devoid of any humanly emotion, how can she be so emotionless? I felt the blood drain from my face. That Psychotic bastard was on the loose again? I had convinced Oliver not to kill him, was that decision going to cost Oliver something more? My eyes snapped at Oliver's face, he was clenching his teeth. He was furious, his fists were clenched. I tried to reach out to him.

"Oliver!" My voice barely a whisper.

"You are joking right? This has got to be a joke right? He was on a freaking island!" Roy voiced his disbelief. All of us knew Slade was smart and if anyone could break out of that prison it would be him. Our worst nightmare was a reality now. The last time he was here, he had tried to burn the city down to ashes and destroy Oliver but he was unsuccessful, was he going to succeed this time?

"Since ARGUS is at fault, we owed you a warning." She was still calm.

Oliver stormed out, we tried to keep up with him but he was too quick. I tried to run after him.

Digg pulled me back. "Give him some time Felicity."

I never thought we would be back to fearing Slade Wilson but it had happened. I never thought Oliver's first day in office would be such a disastrous one.

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	2. Chapter 2

**A big thank you to all my supporters, this one is for my first twelve reviewers. I don't own arrow or anything related to it… all the legal rights belong to CW…. If there is any spelling or grammatical errors please do forgive me. Please do let me know what you think.**

The three of us reached the liar, my heels clicking angrily on the concrete floor of the abandoned factory. The ride back was a quiet one. Even if this place was dark, cold and gloomy it felt safe. I let out a breath I never knew I was holding. Roy was off to train the minute he reached the liar. He was trying to work off his anger. We had managed to salvage a few things from the foundry, the salmon ladder being one, few training dummies and some arrows. My babies however had not survived the attack of Slade's goons and it had to be replaced.

"Is he going to be alright?" I asked Digg, he avoided looking at me. I tugged on his sleeve.

"Digg." I insisted on an answer, I needed him to tell me that everything was going to be alright, that Oliver was going to be alright.

"I don't know Felicity. He was finally moving on. I don't know what this will do to him." He gave me an honest reply but this was not what I wanted to hear.

"We need to figure out how Slade escaped from Lian Yu." I told Digg, I had a niggling feeling that there was something more than what ARGUS was letting on.

"He must have had help, there is no way he could have orchestrated this alone." Digg frowned; Slade having allies was not a good thing.

"You think it is an inside job?" I asked him, I chewed on my lips. I could hear Roy's angry punches on the dummy in the background suddenly stop.

He sauntered towards us menacingly, eyes filled with surprise.

"You think someone from ARGUS helped him?" Roy barked furiously.

"Oliver should have just killed him when he had the chance." The evil glint in Roy's eyes scared me a little.

"Roy!" Digg snapped involuntarily.

"Why? It's the truth, that psycho kidnapped Thea and slit his mother's heart open, drained my blood to make an army. He deserved no mercy." Roy continued spewing his hate.

"Roy, you don't know what you are talking about." I protested weakly, a strange numbness filled my body. He turned to look at me.

"And you do?" Roy yelled, "You convinced him not to kill Slade and look what happened, your quest to save his soul is going to destroy him and everything around him including Thea. You are so blinded by your love for him." My legs almost gave out under me. It felt like I had been hit with a sledge hammer. I felt tears sting my eyes but I refused to let them roll down.

Digg stopped Roy from getting anywhere near me.

I steeled up the courage "Take a walk Harper and cool off." My voice sounded hoarse even to me. Roy stalked off, he grabbed his hoodie from the couch before he left, I could hear his angry footsteps fading into the distance.

I stumbled a bit before I steadied myself against my chair. Digg had moved forward to help but I refused to be a damsel in distress.

"You alright there?" Digg's voice was filled with concern.

"Was he right?" I could barely get the words out.

"You can't think like that Felicity." He chastised me in frustration. I just looked at him, unmoving from where I stood. Digg sighed loudly.

"He blames himself and he just took his anger out on you. He is not right Felicity." He consoled me.

"Then why don't I feel any better Digg?" I grumbled.

"Let's find out how he escaped the damned island." Digg tried to distract me from Roy's hurtful words.

It had been two hours and yet there was no sign of Oliver or Roy. We had gathered some Intel by now. I had hacked into ARGUS's mainframe to find out what they knew about the escape. We now had a satellite image of the boat that had transported the prisoners from the island to mainland China. It was registered to a certain Mr. Franklin Crandall, who had reported it stolen from the docks two weeks prior to the incident.

"Why don't we dig a little deeper into Mr. Crandall's life?" Digg sounded off behind me.

"You think he is lying?"

"My gut says there is more to the story." He told me firmly.

"Alright let's see what kind of person Mr. Crandall is." I mumbled to myself.

I hoped we would get some information on the person aiding Slade. I refused to let Slade disrupt the peace in this city and in Oliver's life.

"Franklin Crandall, an only child, age 47 graduated from Princeton University with an advanced degree in Social sciences, teaches at CU, married and divorced once. Was on a vacation with his girlfriend, when his boat went missing. No criminal record, no known association with criminals." I read off the screen.

"He looks squeaky clean Digg, do you want me to hack into his computer and cell phone records?" I turned in my chair to look at Digg. His brows were drawn together in seriousness.

"Yes, we might as well eliminate him from the suspect pool."

I got to work, I was going to dissect 's life.

"Do you think ARGUS will tell us what they know?" I asked Digg, I was curious if Waller would be willing to share information with us.

"Knowing Waller I am surprised she told us about Slade's escape." Digg replied bitterly.

"Anything turn up?" Digg asked me impatiently from the training area, it was his turn taking frustration out on the dummies.

"Nothing suspicious, just a bunch of emails and phone calls to a student named Grant Kane. If only you could have him arrested for favoritism." I sighed heavily, we had hit a dead end. Despite hours of poking around we had nothing to show for it except a grainy picture of a stolen boat. The GPS system on the boat was destroyed as soon as it was stolen. I rubbed my eyes, it was beginning to burn a little.

We heard the iron door to liar open, had Oliver finally decided to show up? Digg and I looked at the entrance expectantly.

Roy shuffled in, my face fell a bit. He was glistening with sweat, looked like he wore himself out.

"I am going to take a shower." He murmured nonspecifically as he made his way to the small bathroom in the liar.

A freshly showered Roy emerged ten minutes later. Digg was on the phone with Layla, she was visiting her mother in Seattle. Digg was glad that she was far away from Starling.

An uncomfortable silence loomed over us, Roy slowly made his way towards me. Hesitation evident in his body language. I decided to ignore him till he apologized for shredding my heart that way.

"Can we take a walk?" He asked quietly, giving me those puppy dog eyes. Digg looked up at me from his conversation, I nodded to him. I was going to hear out what Roy had to say.

We were out and walking around the abandoned compound of the factory. The air was a little cold despite it being the end of spring.

"I am sorry Felicity." He apologized, he did look remorseful.

"The last time Slade was here I was turned into a monster and had my drained to make an army of monsters." He was terrified.

"Nothing is going to happen to you Roy." I reassured him. I tugged on his sleeve to bring us to a stop. I looked into his eyes, I could see fear and guilt.

"I killed innocent men Felicity." He trembled.

"It was not you Roy." I tried to calm him down as his eyes filled with tears.

"I made three innocent kids fatherless; Thea thought I was a monster Felicity." He told me, he clearly regretted his actions. He was not in control of his body and mind, he was under the influence of the Mirakuru haunted by hallucinations. I never knew he was suffering from such intense repressed guilt.

"It was the Mirakuru Roy, it was not you."

"I am sorry I blew up at you earlier, I am scared of becoming someone unrecognizable." A lone tear escaped from his eye. I tried to wipe it away. He was so young and had gone through a world of pain.

"We won't let it happen Roy, I won't let it happen. I will get you hooked to Tibetan pit viper venom again if I have to." I joked. That brought a smile to his face.

He engulfed me in a painful hug, he may not be on the mirakuru but that didn't mean he was not strong.

"You are the only person who is nice to me and I yelled at you." He mumbled ruefully against me. I broke away from the hug and looked at him.

"Next time tell us what you feel instead of yelling alright." I told him cheekily.

It was wee hours in the morning; the three of us had stayed back in the liar waiting for Oliver to show up. Roy was sleeping in the make shift couch that was placed in the corner of the room, I could hear him snoring softly. Digg was asleep in a chair with his leg propped up on the table in front of him. I had left Oliver a dozen messages that we were waiting for him back in the lair. I knew he needed time to process. Slade escaping must not have been an easy news to hear, after all the damage he had caused him. I was almost tempted to track him down but I knew he wanted to be alone for a while.

I checked the time again; it was almost four thirty in the morning. I hadn't realized it had gotten so late already. Digg wanted to take me home but I insisted on staying back and waiting for Oliver. I knew there was a possibility of him not showing up but I couldn't let go of the anxious feeling that was creeping up. My back throbbed in complain, this chair was not comfortable like my old one. I tucked my feet beneath my lap and rested my head on the table in front. I moaned in complain, the table was cold. The tight navy blue knee length dress I had worn today was not comfortable to sleep in, my hair was in disarray it had fallen off the pony I had worn in the morning. Maybe I should have gone home.

I felt something warm on me. I opened my eyes, an expensive coat was draped around me. I looked up and found Oliver starring down at me.

"Come on let's get you home." He told me softly, I could see disappointment and pain swirling in his eyes, his face looked sullen and drawn. He helped me to my feet, he felt too warm to my touch.

"You are freezing Felicity." He chided me in exasperation. I pulled the coat closer to my body.

"I hacked into ARGUS." My voice sounded hoarse which was also picked up by Oliver.

"It can wait till morning Felicity." He told me.

"Well technically it is morning Oliver, it's almost five." I teased. I was rewarded with a small upturn of his lips.

Digg was awake, he was stretching out but Roy was still out cold.

"Why don't you head home Digg and take Roy along, I will drive Felicity home." He called out to a still half asleep Digg.

Digg gave him a mock salute before he went to rouse Roy form his deep slumber. Digg was dragging a reluctantly awake Roy out of the liar.

"Where did you go?" I wondered if he had another secret liar somewhere.

"I was with Laurel." He replied solemnly.

"Oh!" I had nothing to say, first instinct in face of a serious threat would be to reach out to the one you loved most. Oliver had in fact reacted instinctively.

"Detective lance's condition has deteriorated suddenly." He told me, why did all bad things happen at once?

"Oh god! Is he ali…." I couldn't finish my words.

"Yes he is stable now, I was stuck in the hospital all night." He explained. I was a bit angry, he couldn't find a spare minute to send us a message? I rather not pick a fight with him now.

"Is Laurel alright?" I might not be fond of her but there was no denying that she had suffered greatly in the past few years.

"The doctors want to pull the plug." He told me, he looked withdrawn. I knew he had grown fond of him in the past year.

"That's awful, what does Laurel think?" I couldn't imagine the horrible decision that she had to make.

"You know Laurel, she is not the one to give up, I have asked Sara to come home her sister needs her. And with Slade around we would need as much reinforcement as possible." He let out a deep breath.

"Come on let's go home." He told me as he walked towards the door.

"I am sorry Oliver." I apologized, maybe ending Slade was the right decision. Maybe I shouldn't have stopped him.

"Sorry? What are you sorry for Felicity." He looked stumped, his brows drawn together in confusion. He stood looking at me searching for an answer. He was just a breath away from me. I had to concentrate to keep on topic.

"You wanted to kill Slade but I convinced you not to." My voice barely a whisper. He touched my shoulder providing me with much needed comfort.

"You were right Felicity." He replied softly. I looked into his eyes and for the first time I couldn't read the emotion in them.

"How can I be right Oliver? He has escaped and who knows what he is going to do next?" I felt panic rise in me.

"Letting Slade live was my decision Felicity and I don't regret it for a second." He told me firmly. He gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze and I felt the panic that had been building for the past few hours just ebb away. I tried hard not to lose myself in his touch.

"Someone once told me killing won't solve my problems." I could see amusement glint in his gorgeous eyes.

"Well that someone seems to be smart." I teased back.

"That she is." He told me with a real smile on his face. The thought that I could make him smile in such adverse conditions made me feel good.

"Come on let's get you home."

I followed after him; it felt like a weight had been lifted off of my chest. I hoped this time around, we stayed ahead of Slade.

You know the drill…..

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	3. Chapter 3

**Once again a big thank you to all my supporters. I don't own arrow or anything related to it… all the legal rights belong to CW…. If there are any spellings or grammatical errors please do forgive me. Please do let me know what you think.**

Everybody could probably feel the tension in the air. Let's just say the arrow cave was overcrowded today, with both the Lance sisters, Oliver, Digg, Roy and me! The liar felt extremely cramped and I was itching to bolt. The vibe between the sisters was not a good one. Sara had a different take on their father's condition and that had caused more friction in their already fragile relationship. And of course who could forget the dating drama. I didn't know who to blame for that, should I blame Sara who left Oliver in the lurch just when he needed her the most or should I blame Oliver who hadn't sparred a second to jump into a relationship with Laurel.

I had to keep a tight leash on Roy; I knew he was not far from making a snide comment or two at the troubled trio. I tried to keep my eyes trained on the computer screen in front of me.

"All we need is Helena and Mckenna and we could call this place, Oliver's harem." Roy whispered next to me. He snorted unattractively.

"Roy!" I scolded my voice an octave higher than I would have liked it to be. Luckily for the both of us the other four in the room barely noticed us. Digg was training on the dummies while the troubled trio was discussing detective Lance's fate.

"Well it is true." He smirked at me.

"They will hear you Roy." I reprimanded again and resumed my search. He will be reduced to a pulp if the objects of his teasing heard him.

I was hacking into the ARGUS mainframe; I needed to know everything they had on Slade's escape. And Roy's incessant whining was making it extremely difficult for me to focus. I just hoped that I did not end up in an ARGUS prison with a bomb ticking in my head. ARGUS was on full alert, they were extra cautious with their surveillance, they had set up roadblocks at major travel junctures. If Slade tried to enter the city, with the extra security measures they were taking they would most likely spot him.

"I don't like her you know, she wanted to kill me." He whined next to me, he pulled his chair closer to mine to keep us from being heard. I turned to look at him. Gone were the days when he literally worshiped the ground Sara walked on and now he was filled with bitterness.

"That was when you were on the mirakuru Roy." I told him gently. He shot me a frustrated look.

"If there is nothing more I am going to the airport to pick Layla up." Digg announced unceremoniously.

I swirled in my chair to face him.

"What Layla is coming back? I thought she was staying with her mother till we sort out the Slade problem." I asked him, the plan was to keep Layla and their unborn child far away from Starling.

"The women in my life barely listen to me." He grumbled. His lips were curled in irritation. Layla can be extremely stubborn when she needed to be.

"Can you congratulate Layla for me?" Sara told him. "You and Layla becoming parents is probably the only good news I have heard since I landed in Starling." She paused to give him a warm smile.

"I will and I know this gets old after a while but welcome home." He said his tone somber. We all hoped that she had come back home under better circumstances but nevertheless we all had to work with what we got.

"No place is home right?" She mumbled back politely. She was trying her best to keep a cheery front.

"Digg stay with Layla, her place is closer to the ARGUS headquarters and they have surveillance on her, Slade will think twice before breaking into her place." Oliver suggested.

"That's the plan." Digg told him as he shrugged on his jacket.

"Let's not give Slade a chance to catch us off guard." Oliver told us all. He was in leader mode, dishing out orders to us. He was determined to be two steps ahead of Slade this time.

"Sara can stay with.."

"Me." I interrupted before he could finish. He looked at me eyes wide in surprise and in understanding. Sara and Laurel together was a recipe for disaster right now.

"Are you tossing me to the dogs then?" Roy protested loudly. He had offered to come home with me but Sara needed my extra room more than he did.

"You can stay with me." Oliver brushed him off calmly. He was still living with Laurel, he had yet to move into the Queen mansion. The mansion was in desperate need of furniture and cleaning but considering the circumstances it was going to take a while.

"No I'd rather take my chances with Slade than room with you two love birds." He objected quickly.

Oliver shot him a murderous glare. Laurel's face twisted in annoyance and Sara looked at us nonchalantly, Digg just sighed heavily. Oliver and Laurel's relationship was not a favored topic in the liar today.

I decided to take control before Roy did more damage to himself.

'You can crash on my couch." I told Roy. I will chew him out for this later.

Digg walked out of the liar after giving Oliver a stiff nod. I resumed my work; they had nothing on Slade's escape online not even the satellite picture of the boat that _we had borrowed yesterday._

Sara was showing Laurel how to throw her punches more effectively while Roy was getting some more shooting practice.

"They have gone offline." I grumbled out loud. I was annoyed beyond belief, what the hell were they trying to hide? There were no other possible reasons why this could have happened. Why couldn't Waller just let us know what she knew? We wanted Slade as much they did, probably more than they did.

"I wonder why that happened?" Oliver's deadpan tone made me seethe in quiet rage. I turned to look at him. Nobody could miss the hints of amusement on his face. Now was not the time for teasing. They had outsmarted me by going offline and I hated feeling inadequate

"Can you ask for more information?" I tried to control the disappointment and anger I was feeling.

"If she had gone to such lengths I am not sure she would want to tell us anything." He sighed.

"Did you get the list of ARGUS personnel killed in Lian Yu?" He asked me, he looked worn out worry lines creasing his forehead.

"That was the last thing I could get my hands on." I handed him the printed out list of names. He moved closer to stand next to my chair. I was finally immune to his half naked self. It had taken a lot of practice.

"Did you run background and financials?" He peered down at me.

"I am hurt you even have to ask." I feigned anger. I was rewarded with a little smirk.

"They are all clean." I continued "I hacked into all of their phones except one, of a certain Mr. Landers; it could be turned off, dismantled or simply broken, if only we could get our hands on his phone." I wondered out loud.

"Then we get our hands on it." He told me.

"Are we breaking into ARGUS?" A part of me was filled with excitement and the other with dread.

"No!" He chuckled. "Personnel effects have to be released to the families we just need to intercept it."

"You do realize ARGUS will destroy any incriminating evidence that may be on it." I retorted in annoyance. ARGUS was anything but stupid.

"We cannot antagonize ARGUS we might need their help with Slade later." He carried on "I have full faith in you, if there was anything useful in it you would find it." He responded calmly.

"There are only so many miracles I am allowed to perform Oliver." I told him quietly, his unwavering faith in me scared me a little.

"You will have his phone by sundown tomorrow." His voice brimming with confidence.

An uncomfortable silence loomed over us. I sat on my couch munching on the popcorn I just made. We were having a firefly marathon, why anyone would cancel such a show was beyond me. I tried to keep my focus on the giant flat screen in front of me. This television was one of my prized possessions. Sara was sitting on the carpeted floor in front of the couch with her back resting on it. I wanted to know so many things. Was she alright? She had not come back in the most ideal of circumstances, with her father and Slade, she must be in great distress. How long was she planning to be here? Had she met Sin yet? Did she get back with Nyssa? I didn't want to intrude, she can tell me when she was ready.

"I can hear your mind whirling you know?" She teased. Her face greeting me with a small smile.

"Was I that obvious?" I was a tiny bit embarrassed. I mumbled an apology.

"Still cute." She complimented, I was embarrassed even more.

"I am going out for a run." Announced an extremely restless Roy. He had been playing darts by himself in the kitchen.

"Be careful." I hollered before he rushed out the room. I could hear my front door slam shut loudly. He had moaned in complain when he knew he had to share the same space as Sara for an unprecedented period of time.

"I am surprised you didn't mother him." She asked me with suspicion.

"Well I did stick a tracking device in his hood earlier." I told her honestly, the chances of him causing trouble for himself and others around him were astronomically high.

"That's my girl." She gave a haughty laughter. I couldn't help but laugh along with her.

"You can ask me anything you know." She told me, her voice so low I barely heard her.

"Letting go is not easy I just want to know if you are alright?" I was concerned, she may be a ruthless assassin but she was still a daughter who loved her father very much.

"He wouldn't want this; he wouldn't want to be a vegetable." Her voice was filled with grief.

"Maybe he will beat this." I couldn't help but hope for the best.

"Laurel thinks he will, I can see hope eating her inside out." I could sense anger in her words.

"You think she will relapse?" I asked her. I had yet to witness a breakdown but laurel was so good at pretenses.

"She is on the edge; Ollie is barely keeping her from tripping over." She told me resigned.

"Are you alright with that? Laurel and Oliver I mean." I blurted out before I could stop myself. She snorted.

"Laurel and Oliver always find a way back to each other but this time it feels different, it feels like they are trying too hard, it feels like they are playing safe." She explained, I would never understand the mechanics of their relationship and neither do I want to. Staying away from Oliver and his messy love life was probably the best thing I could do for myself.

"Are you ok with them?" She fired back at me. She looked at me inquisitively.

"Why wouldn't I be? Oliver and me? That is unthinkable? I…. We were never like that." I stammered furiously.

"I always thought you guys would have been together if I hadn't showed up when I did." She told me apologetically.

I was stumped for words, did she really think that she came in between me and Oliver? That was really something.

"We were never like that." I protested numbly. "Oliver is a friend and nothing more." I told her quietly. Why did my words sound so empty? And why did it hurt?

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